Here and Now
by WritingAurora
Summary: Annabeth moves to New York, leaving her ex, Luke, behind. When an anonymous text reveals that Luke had been cheating on her, Annabeth becomes devastated. But then she meets Percy. They quickly become friends and they do everything with each other. But will it remain a friendship, or will it develop into something more? When Luke moves to New York things get even more complicated.
1. New life in New York

**I do not own most of the characters in this story.**

 **Hello guys! This is my first fan fiction, if you like it please leave a review! Note: I will not use all characters from the books, some might have different names, and some characters might be described differently.**

I woke up by the faint sound of the radio. Looking up, I realised that we had already gotten to New York.

-Piper, let go!

-No, you let go!

I sighed at the sound of my two younger siblings, Piper and Gerald, fighting noisily about what seemed to be a toy robot. Trying to shut them out, I plugged in my earphones and listened to some good old Barbra Streisand.

-Annabeth, we're here now! I could hear my father shout over the screams of my brother and sister.

I got out of the car and looked up at the five story building. It looked plain with its beige colouring and simple windows. I would have made it so much better, if I would have been the architect.

It was still a few days until the new term started. My family's apartment was in the centre of New York, and Goode high school (where I was supposed to spend the coming three years of my life) only a few blocks away and within walking distance.

It was amazing how much things could actually change in a couple of months. Three months ago I would still have been happy and calm in our old house. Then my stepmother wanted to move nearer to, what she called, 'the heart of New York'. Dad would do anything for her, so of course we moved.

The gentle breeze playing with my hair and the sun warmed my face. It was a beautiful day. I took of my earphones and then we went up to the third story.

The flat was nice, actually. I had a big room with plenty of place for my desk, bookshelf, bed and closet. I also managed to squeeze in my keyboard. I even had a little balcony and a private bathroom. We also had a nice, spacey kitchen with rustic furniture. Piper and Gerald had there own rooms.

Yet for some reason, I was sad. I guess it was from parting with my friends. Yes, they were very few, but they were my friends. And with parting from Luke. I didn't possibly know how to cope without him. I guess I had to find a way though, because he lived in California, and that's basically across the US.

We only broke up two weeks ago, Luke and I. Mutually agreeing that a long distance relationship probably wouldn't work, we thought it best to end it there and then. But that didn't mean that it didn't hurt. Not at all.

I decided to do one of the only things I knew could clear my thoughts. Sitting down at the keyboard, I started to play 'Grenade' by Bruno Mars. Soon I was singing to it too. Though it didn't take long before I heard 'Annabeth! Stop that horrible noise!'. My stepmom, Helen, knew just how to make me angry.

I clenched my fists, took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

"Great "I thought. "New York will great. Not at all boring or irritating. Not at all.."

 **Thanks for reading! I know it's a little short, but it will be longer if I know someone's reding it! So please leave a review, I will continue the story if I get 1 review.**


	2. Meeting Percy Jackson

**Hi guys! Thanks so much for the reviews, they literally made my day! Keep reviewing so I now you still like it :). What do you say, maybe I can get three reviews this time too? Anyway, here comes the next part!**

I was sitting on the ground in my balcony, listening to Shawn Mendes and drawing sketches of houses and flats in the light from the sun, which was still determined to shine. The drawings were quite good, actually. Modern, elegant buildings made to last for a hundred years. Not like my relationship with Luke, which had only lasted for two years.

Gosh, I missed him so much. How he looked me in the eyes and said something thoughtful and loving. How he always managed to get time over just so that he could be with me. How he always listened.

I felt tears trickling down my cheeks. "Luke" I thought. "Luke, I miss you so, so much."

Of course someone had to disturb my mourning.

-Annabeth! Breakfast!

-I'm coming! I yelled angrily, but my voice broke at the last word and I started sobbing even more.

My eyes went red from all the tears, so I went to the bathroom to try and hide it. I did my best to cover up my puffy eyes with a little makeup. Yes, I know. I usually don't wear makeup. But it was an emergency situation.

When I was done I went to kitchen to the smell of bacon, fried eggs and french toast. Helen was already sitting there with the newspaper and a cup of coffee, Piper and Gerald alongside her. To cover up for my screaming before, I exclaimed 'Yum!' and started to fill my plate. It didn't taste anything, but that was probably because if my minor breakdown about Luke before.

Luke. Did he miss me, as I missed him? Did he think of all the funny things we did together? How we always used to see each other at that cafe close to school and just talk?

"Don't cry" I thought desperately. "Do not cry in front of your father or sibling. And never cry in front of Helen."

Trying as hard as I could to not let it show, I yawned, stretched my arms and closed my eyes. When the tears didn't threaten to spill over, I relaxed and continued eating.

-We're going to a swimming pool close by, my dad informed me while digging in to a plate full of bacon and eggs. He sure had an appetite, my dad.

-We're swimming! Gerald screamed.

-Swimming! Piper shouted.

-Swim! they sang in unison and started to parade around the flat dancing some kind of victory dance. I suspected there had been an argument which they'd won.

Gerald was nine and Piper eight, yet they acted like they both were five.

So here I was, in my swimming suit, in front of what seemed like half of Manhattan, trying to act like I didn't know the children standing next to me. Piper and Gerald went crazy in the car. They went even more crazy in the locker rooms. Now they were acting like maniacs. I mean, come on. It's a freaking swimming pool, not a bridge opening or something.

Suddenly someone pushed me to the ground. Piper. My brother and sister where running towards the candy machine, and my dad and Helen where nowhere to be seen.

-Piper! Gerald! I shouted and scurried after them.

When I caught up with them and placed myself in front of them, they went from crazy clowns to scared mice. They knew that they'd crossed the line.

-Please try to act normal, okay? Not only did you make a fool out of yourself -and me!- , but you also almost got lost. Your mom and dad is worried crazy, and what have you done? Bought a snickers. Sure, that's very mature. Now go to the kids pool and stay there until Helen comes back. Otherwise you will be in a lot of trouble. Understand?

Okay, I might have lied a little. Dad and Helen didn't know where they were. But it worked. They merely nodded and quietly walked away without looking back. When they'd almost gotten out of earshot they burst out laughing. Well, okay, that was expected. Hopefully they would do as I told them, though. Cause I would not spend my entire time here chasing after them like a fool.

-Giving you a hard time, are they?

I spun around trying to make out the source of the sound. It turned out to come from a guy my age. He had jet black hair and blue-green eyes the colour of the sea. He wasn't overly muscular but he wasn't thin either. He had shorts a deep green and a friendly face.

-Uhm, yes, I said, a little caught back since he had probably heard my outburst.

-I'm Percy, the guy said. Percy Jackson. And you?

It took me a while to realise he was asking me something, I was busy wondering whether or not he thought I had anger issues. Okay, I did have ADHD and dyslexia, but anyway.

-Annabeth Chase, I said when I came to my senses.

-Nice to meet you, the guy called Percy said.

-Nice to meet you too, I replied with a shy smile. Are you from here?

-Yeah, I live one block away from here. And you?

-Just moved in, I answered.

Suddenly we got interrupted by someone calling out 'Percy?'. A someone who happened to be really big, with large hands and big, blue, puppy eyes.

-Tyson! Percy said with a smile. Tyson, this is Annabeth. Annabeth, this is Tyson, my little brother.

I looked at Tyson in shock. Little brother? Was it like, a joke, or was he actually serious? And something about Tyson repulsed me. I didn't now why, but I sure didn't like him.

-Well, I should probably go check on my siblings.. Anyway, goodbye!


	3. High School Life

**First of all. I am very** **sorry for not updating in so long. I just forgot about it and time simply flew past. Suddenly the story had gone months without being updated. Frankly, I'm not sure wether or not I will continue this story. I guess it depends on you readers. If you want me to continue with this story, please review so that I know that you like it. If I know that people are actually reading this and enjoy it, I might continue. It's actually all up to you ;)** **But anyways, here is chapter three for you.**

 **And yes. I am not Rick Riordan. Sp sadly, I don't own the Percy Jackson universe :(**

It was lunch, and Annabeth Chase was sitting in the canteen, alone. Never had she ever felt so vulnerable. To her, it felt like everyone was watching her, judging her.

She stirred her orange soup without enthusiasm. "Getting friends had gone really well." she thought dryly to herself. Three classes had already passed. Physics, Biology and Math. She knew she was good in the latter, but her dyslexia was making it hard for her. It kept messing up the formulas so that she couldn't read it properly. Because of that, everyone thought she was just a stupid blonde. After hearing someone behind her whisper those two words under their breath, she was fuming with anger for the rest of that lesson.

The rest of the day passed on in the same manner. When she looked at the schedule, she saw that she had music on Thursdays, which cheered her up. But the loneliness from the rest of the day sippred into her happiness and turned it into a big great bunch of nothingness.

The walk home wasn't long, but it felt like an eternity. Opening the door, her father didn't seem to notice her gloomy mood, but merely asked her how she liked her new school.

-It was great, dad. Really great.

She didn't sound very convincing, but either he actually didn't notice, or he didn't care. Annabeth decided to just sigh and walk to her room. When she was there, she took her homework from her bag and decided to try and get some work done. But it didn't take long until her thoughts drifted away. Mainly towards Luke.

An hour later, she realised doing her homework was a doomed mission. She scrambled up her things and quickly shuffed them into the depths of her bag. And right on time, for only a few seconds later, Helen shouted to the household, announcing that it was time for dinner. Annabeth made her way to the kitchen and sat down for supper.

Dishing duty fell on her. Bubbles flew everywhere as she decicevely cleaned plates, forks, glasses and knives. She quietly and peacefully started humming on a song. It was a beautiful song, about love and happiness. She admitted to herself that it was a pinch too cheesy, but decided not to care.

After that, she brushed her teeth in the bright light of the bathroom. While doing that, she eyed herself in the mirror on the wall. Stormy grey eyes accompanied by now messy, blond hair. Shaking her head, she tried to comb the hair out with her fingers, tootbrush still in mouth. She didn't succeed, so she quickly finished brushing her pearly whites and went back to her room. Pushed to the side lay a box yet to be opened and sorted out. After five minutes of searching she found her blue brush and started to comb through the mess.

It felt like ages before she finally went to bed. And when she had done that, it felt like ages before she fell asleep. But she must have at some point, since her eyes suddenly fluttered open and where met with the suns bright light. Stretching herself, she stiffled a yawn. A groggy eyed Annabeth went over to her closet to pick an outift for the day. Finally she settled on worn out jeans and a pink shirt. Nothing extravagant, but it would have to do.

The same Annabeth walked into school an hour later. After only one day at Goode High School, she hadn't learnt where the classrooms where yet. And frankly, the map she had received did no good whatsoever. With it, she had interrupted numerous of classes and received many laughs from students and displeased frowns from teachers. The best thing to do was to ask a student for help, so that was what she did.

-Ehm, exscuse me, she began, quite awkwardly. I'm new here and just wondered if you could show me where the P.E. lessons are being held?

The boy she had asked turned around. He had jet-black hair and wore a denim shirt and black jeans. To her astonishment, she realised that it was Percy Jackson, the guy she had met the other day at the swimming pool close to both their homes. He smiled when he saw the familiar girl before him.

-Percy? I didn't think you went to this school. I mean, I didn't see you around so I figured..

-I was sick, he said, still smiling. But of course I can help you! Which class have you got?

-P.E., she answered.

-Oh, really? Me too. C'mon, I'll show you where it is.

On the way, they started talking. She found it felt natural to speak to him, even though he was almost a complete stranger.

-Here we are, he said.

She looked around, having not noticed their sudden stop until he had spoken about the matter. Feeling a little dissapointed about having to stop their conversation, she mumbled a 'see you later' and then went into the girls lockerrooms.

-Alright now, boys and girls!

The P.E. teacher, Mrs. Perrington (by students simply called 'coach') stood in front of the half eager, half frightened mass. She continued.

-Today you will experience something most of you probably haven't tried before. It takes great strenght and great flexibility. To those of you who haven't already figured out what we're doing, we are boxing today. So y'all need to grab some gloves and then station yourself next to another student.

Annabeth felt excitement flow through her. Boxing she knew. It was a sport she'd practised since she was ten, after all. She decided to wait until there weren't so many people gathering by the bag of gloves. Then the girl chose a pair of red gloves and walked forward with confidence. The Coach had said that they would be working in pairs, so she looked around the room for people that like her, had yet to find someone to partner up with.

-Confident now, are we? Percy said with a grin, walking up to her.

Annabeth blushed. He had probably witnessed her confidently striding forward.

-Wanna, eh, work together on this? she asked him.

-Sure thing, was his answer.

A few minutes later the teacher spoke up again.

-So, I see everyone has a partner for todays lesson. Good. We will now go through some basic techniques.

Mrs. Perrington stood in the middle of the hall, showing some punches and defense techniques. Annabeth had learnt them years ago and knew them by heart, so she had no trouble keeping up. Neither had Percy. As they practiced, softly hitting each other square on the chest, they started talking again.

-So, new school, huh? Got kicked out of the other? Percy teased.

-No, she said with a half-smile. My dad's wife wanted to move closer to the city centre.

-I see. Remarried, is he?

-Well, yes. My mum died four years ago.

Percy looked at her with regret in his eyes. It was a look Annabeth had come to despise over to four years since the tragedy.

-I'm so sorry for your loss. Also I'm sorry for bringing it up. You want to talk about it?

-No, it's okay, Annabeth said, continuing with the punches.

Deciding to lighten up the mood, she started telling him a story of when her siblings had made a fool out of themselves. Not that that was what they did every day. He laughed and they started to converse just like before.

-Okay, time for some more serious boxing! the Coach shouted. You will compete in your pairs.

After settling some rules, Annabeth and Percy turned back to each other. Percy smirked.

-Prepare to get crushed, Ms. Chase, he said.

-Don't underestimate me, _Mr._ Jackson, Annabeth said in return, smiling wildly.

 **And thats chapter three. Hopefully you liked it, and if so, please review!**


	4. Light Ahead

**Wow, another chapter! I'm surprising myself, what with actually writing this the next day and not after three months or something. I was thinning about updating once a week since it gives me plenty of time to write a new chapter and also get ahead with the writing. This means that you'll get a new update every Friday, because I will do my best trying to finish this fic.** **If you like my story, please leave a review so that I know that you still like it! It encourages me to continue :-)**

 **Yeah, an hour or so after updating I realised that I had switched from first person to third person.. Oh well. You don't mind do you?**

 **Important: I've decided to change the dialogue to "this" and the thoughts to _this._ Hopefully it won't be to confusing.**

 **Nope, I do not own Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and most other characters, or anything in the Percy Jackson universe. You probably already know that though.. So let's get started, shall we not?**

With his well sculpted muscles Percy was stronger than Annabeth, but she was more flexible and had gotten more training. Because of that, Annabeth almost always had the upper hand, yet she had to admit that Percy was hard to beat. When the class was over, they thanked each other for a nice game, then walked into their respective lockerrooms. Annabeth smiled to herself as she got ready for the next lesson. Maybe, just maybe, she had landed herself a friend. And a good one too.

Next class was english. The classroom's windows had a view of the street outside. It was what Annabeth guessed was a normal, busy New York day. When the teacher started talking Annabeth turned her attention to her instead. To hers, and the rest of the classrooms, surprise and dissapointment, the teacher started the lesson by handing out a pop quiz. It was easier than she had expected it to be though. Ten minutes before break she handed in the two pages long test to the petite teacher. The teacher, who she recalled was called Ms. Stone, looked up at her with a small smile. She was rather young, probably in her twenties. Annabeth noticed that her ginger hair was put up in an elegant braid.

"Thanks-" Ms. Stone said as she quickly looked down at a paper on her table.

"Annabeth Chase. As you have finished you may leave now."

Gratefully, Annabeth scurried out of the room. She had fifteen minutes before her next class started, but she knew she would need all of that time to find the classroom. Therefore, she quickly grabbed her things from her dark blue locker and walked around in the corridors, looking for the History class.

When she finally got there thirteen minutes later, all but one seat was yet to be taken. She sat down on it without looking around.

"And so we meet again, Annabeth Chase." a voice behind her called.

She spun around and noticed Percy sitting behind her. She grinned at the sight.

"Well hello." she said.

"Let me introduce you to my friends." he then continued. "This is Thalia."

A girl with black hair, black clothes and smokey-eyes gazed at Annabeth. The only colour in her appearence was her icy blue eyes. She said hi with an uninterested voice. Exasperated, Percy's hands flew up in the air.

"Come on, Thalia!" he exclaimed. "Show some enthusiascm for once."

He snickered, and Thalia tried hard to contain the smile that was creeping up on her face. Annabeth smiled shyly and murmured a 'Hi' in response.

Then Grover, a guy with curly black hair (Why did everyone so far have black hair?) and chocolate skin intruduced himself. He wore a Star Trek shirt and loose jeans.

"And this is Silena." Percy continued.

He gestured towards a brunette a few seats away. The beautiful girl had bright blue eyes and sported a blue polka dot dress that matched her eyecolour. Silena shot Annabeth a warm smile.

"Hello, Annabeth." she said. "Nice to have you on the team."

"Hello." Annabeth said in response.

"And then we have Clarisse, but she's in another class." Percy finished.

In just two minutes, it apparead as if she'd landed herself three more friends. Things were going well for Annabeth Chase.

"Ey, Annabeth!" Silena said from across the classroom. "By the way, we need to get you a nickname.. Blondie perhaps? Nah, doesn't fit. Maybe we.."

Silena, who had gotten herself way off topic from what she was actuallt going to say, didn't get any longer before the teacher demanded silence.

"I am Mr. Chiron." the teacher said helpfully, turning to Annabeth. "And I will be teaching History. Open up your books and we will get started! You remember where we left of last week."

As Annabeth had switched schools mid-term, she had no idea where they had left of. Fortunately, she had gotten all the books she would need the day before, so she opened up the history book. Then she turned to Percy.

"Ehm, you don't happen to know which page he means?" she whispered to the boy.

"Page 78." he whispered back.

"Thanks."

She flicked through the book until she got to the right page. To her surpise and happiness she saw that they were working with the Greek mythology. Something that just so happened to be her subject of expertise.

Mr. Chiron made the students read a piece of the text each. When it was Annabeths turn, she quickly looked for keywords in the paragraph. When she understood what the text was about, she started talking, knowing everything by heart.

"Hades abducted Persephone to the Underworld. Demeter pleaded to Zeus, but in vain. Because she wanted her dear daughter back, she decided that when Persephone wasn't on the Earth, but in the Underground, it would be winter on forced Zeus to take action and negotiate with Hades so that Demeter would get Persephone back. But before the goddess could make her way back, Hades offered her a pomegranete. He knew that eating in the Underworld meant that you could never permanently leave. Because of that, Persephone lived both on the Earth and in the Underworld. The seasons were born."

The classroom went quiet. Annabeth looked around her. Why was everyone staring at her?

"Impressive, _Wise Girl."_ Percy teased.

"Very well." the teacher said. "Annabeth covered the rest of the text in that informative speech of hers, so we might as well just get started with the questions."

With a blush, Annabeth looked down. Her enthusiascm regarding the subject had made her continue and tell more than she was meant to. But the class didn't mind, something she realised when she looked around yet again. Mr. Chiron threw questions at the class (many of which Annabeth answered, with Percy close behind) until the bell rang. Within ten seconds most students had already exited the classrooms, but some lingered to ask questions to the teacher. The teacher in question sat down comfortably on his stool, watching as the quee formed. Annabeth walked out, accompanied by Silena, Thalia, Grover and, of course, Percy. When the group stood in the corridor, a voice called out the names of everyone but Annabeth.

"Had fun in history?" The girl approaching them asked.

With a stride that informed everyone that she had a big ego, the girl walked forward to the group and fistbumped Thalia. Her brown hair was collected in a low ponytail.

"Different." was Grover's vague answer.

The girl turned towards Annnabeth.

"And who are you?"

"Ehm," Annabeth said, suddenly a little shy. "I'm Annabeth. I moved here not long ago."

"Basically, anyone who's a friend to my friends is a friend of mine. So hi." the girl answered. "I'm Clarisse. But believe me when I say this, if you screw up and hurt one of my friends, consciously or subconsciously, I will punch you in the face."

Annabeth gulped as they shook hands. Clarisse then patted her on the back -a little too harshly- and lead the group to the cafeteria. On their way, books where put in lockers and conversations were being held. Annabeth immediately got dragged into a conversation with Silena, who eagerly interrogated her about her thoughts on makeup and clothes. Much to her dissapointment, Annabeth rarely used makeup, and clothes weren't really her biggest interest.

"Well then," Silena said with a huge grin on her face. "You leave me no choice but to become your personal stylist."

Annabeth shook her head and laughed. When they got into the cafeteria, Grover gasped.

"Enchiladas!"

Clarisse snorted, and the rest of the group smiled. Annabeth felt like she missed out on some intern joke. They all got their food and went to find a table.

This time, she didn't sit alone. She suddenly had friends to talk to, people that, even though she'd only known them for an hour and a half, really seemed to care about her. Honestly, it felt too good to be true. She felt like this was all some sort of dream, a bubble of happiness, and soon enough that bubble would break and she would be alone again. But she shook of the feeling and concentrated on enjoying her company instead.

Her last lesson was math. When she had looked at her schedule the day before, she'd realised that she had math three times a week. This time though, it went better. Percy sat beside her and encouraged her. Much to her shock, Percy had told her that he had dyslexia as well (and ADHD. Seriously. What are the odds?). With Percy's help, the lesson went by splendidly. He was like her own magic cure for dyslexia. With him around everything suddenly felt so much easier.

When the bell finally rang, Annabeth stretched her arms and made her way to her locker. There, Silena waited. When Annabeth stood beside her, Silena started talking. In short, she took her role as Annabeth's stylist very seriously. Annabeth herself was too tired to object, and barely had time to text her dad saying that she would get home late before Silena dragged her out of the school and onto a bus.

 _Oh boy._ Annabeth thought. _I'm so gonna regret this._

 **Did you like this chapter? If you did, feel free to leave a review, they always make me smile.**

 **And yes, I pictured movie Grover and Clarisse, basically because I like them better that way.**

 **Until next time!**


	5. Going Too Far

**Yay, another chapter! I didn't think I would actually get it done for today. But here it is :-) If you like it please leave a review, they make me very happy!**

 **I still don't own the Percy Jackson universe, unfortunately..**

Actually, Silena surprised Annabeth. After two clothing stores, she realised that her new friend was too tired to care (Never share an apartment with two night active, noisy siblings if you can help it) and took her to a coffee shop instead. There, she ordered a latte and a muffin for her, and two black coffees for Annabeth, who desperately needed the energy.

"So, Annabeth. Might you tell me why you are so tired? It's literally just 5pm."

"I've got younger siblings." was her only answer.

Silena nodded in understanding. She had a younger sibling too, Hazel she had told her, and understood what the tired blonde in front of her was going through.

"How old are they? Like, four? Five?" she then continued to ask.

"Eight and nine." was Annabeth's answer. "But they're _acting_ like they are five."

When they were finished, Silena decided that it was best for Annabeth if she got home and rested. Pulling out her phone, she made them switch numbers. Then she flashed a smile towards the girl and sad goodbye.

Annabeth had barely got home before her phone vibrated in her pocket. She sighed. Silena was probably already planning a new shopping trip. But when Annabeth pulled out her phone, she saw that she had gotten a text from an unknown number. She read it to herself.

 **Hello Wise Girl, had fun with Silena?**

Annabeth furrowed her brows before responding.

 **Who is this?**

 **Percy.**

 **Oh. How did you get my number?**

 **Silena gave it to me. It wouldn't surprise me if the whole school knows it by now.**

 **Hmm.. Why am I not surprised?**

They texted for about twenty minutes. Then Annabeth snapped out of the conversation by Helen's voice shouting "Dinner!". She sighed heavily.

 **Okay, I've got dinner now. See you tomorrow!**

Her phone burred again, but before she had a chance of reading it Helen started shouting again.

"Annabeth! Get over here now!"

Annabeth sighed. She couldn't for the life of her understand why her dad thought Helen was wife material. Sure, she had pretty brown hair and looked younger than she was. But apart from that? Her personality sure wasn't anything to brag about.

The day had been long, but happy. Annabeth had gotten a whole bunch of new friends and things looked bright for once. At her other school, she really just had Luke. Annabeth hadn't hit it off with his friends, they merely avoided her when she was arround and answered her questions with short answers. So this was completely different, something she wasn't used to. But she embraced it all the same.

"Why, you sure look happy, Ann." Her dad said. "Did school go well?"

"Yeah, it did actually." Annabeth decided to open up to her father for once and told him about Percy, Silena, and all the others that she had befriended.

"Sounds like a bunch of odd people, those 'friends' of yours." Helen muttered.

"They're actually very nice." Annabeth said with a stern tone. Helen might not like her very much, but didn't she want her to be happy?

"Hmm." was Helen's only asnwer.

Annabeth sighed and continued to dig in on her roasted chicken. Helen cast her a look but didn't say anything. Piper and Gerald started a food fight, throwing pieces of chicken and potato on each other. Helen firmly said: "Kids. Don't play with your food." She never raised her voice at them.

But they didn't stop, they only laughed and continued. "Piper. Gerald. Sit down and eat your freaking food before _I_ eat _you._ " Annabeth said in a harsh tone. They widened their eyes and quietly sat down. Chewing with their mouths open, they started a loud conversation about Pokemon Go. Turning back to her plate, she caught Helen's scolding gaze. She calmly lowered her fork and looked up at her step-mother. "Can you please just stop with that?" "Stop with what?" Helen said in a sweet, innocent voice. Annabeth waved her fork in her direction and said; "Looking at me like I'm a freak show! Just because you can't control them." Helen fumed. "Excuse me, miss! You will not use that tone on me!" "You cannot tell me what to say! Or do, for that matter!" Helen slammed her fist onto the table and caught the siblings attention. "You're not my mother!" Annabeth yelled. "Your mother is dead!" Helen exclaimed. All the heads surrounding the table snapped up and watched Helen with surprise and, in Annabeth's and her father's case, hurt.

 _How could she say that? How could she say something like that? Helen just crossed the line._ She tried to form a sentence, stuttering and failing miserably. "I.." Helen started. Then she turned to Annabeth's father. "I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to bring that up. Please forgive me." Frederick Chase smiled sadly. "It's okay." But it wasn't okay. Not to Annabeth or to her dad. But none of them said anything more about the matter. It would only make things worse.

"I think this" Annabeth started, "is my cue to leave." And she left.

That night, Annabeth dreamt of her mother for the first time for three years. Her mom, Athena, was screaming Annabeth's name and crying.

 _"_ _Annabeth! Annabeth, you have to help me. I can't take this any longer." Annabeth hurried towards her beloved mother. She barely noticed that they were in her parent's room in their previos home. Pulling the hair out of her mother's face, she hugged her mom tightly. Athena yelped in pain. "What's wrong, mom?" Annabeth asked, worry in her voice. Annabeth looked down at her mother's stomach, which the hands of said mother clenched tightly. Annabeth carefully loosened her grip. What she saw made her insides turn. Blood. So much blood. "Mom!" she cried. Athena cried to, loud sobs the only thing audible. "Stay strong for me, Annabeth. Please, stay strong for me! Find him." Annabeth furrowed her brows. She could barely see Athena through her thick tears. "Find who?" she asked. "Find him! Fi-" Athena's head rolled back, eyes staring into nothing. Annabeth choked on her tears. "Mom!"_

Annabeth gasped and bolted upright. The sudden movement made her back hurt. "Ouch." she said. Then she remembered. The dream. That horrible, horrible nightmare. She tried her best to shake the bad feeling that lurked in her stomach off, but didn't quite succeed. Checking the time, she realised that it was only three in the morning. Knowing that she wouldn't be getting any more sleep, Annabeth started with her morning routine. While she made her bed, ate, and brushed her teeth, she contemplated on what the dream had meant. For a dream like that simply couldn't be meaningless.

The details of the dream became more unclear as time moved by. She could no longer remember certain details. So she took her notebook and wrote all that she remembered down. _I'll figure it out later._ she thought.

Closing the notebook, she stepped out of her room. She couldn't help the strange feeling that nestled in her stomach. But again she shook it off. Annabeth took her schoolbag and went out the door. She knew that she would be way to early, but she didn't care.

 _Today is going to be a good day._ she thought.

 **So that's chapter five! It's a little shorter than the previous one but I hope that you don't mind. Anyway,**

 **until next time!**


	6. The Day Of Sorrow

**Hi guys! First off, I'm sorry for not publishing anything last week. I kept rewriting this because I wasn't satisfied with how it played out. And then when I actually was happy with it, of course Pages had to go delete everything (Okay, it might be my fault. But seriously, where is the freaking undo button?!) which kind of pissed me off. So I wrote down what was meant to happen in this chapter and then left it at that. This chapter doesn't contain all that though, I skipped A LOT. But I actually like it better this way. Even though it is EXTREMELY short, even to be me (sorry about that btw).**

 **Also. As I am pretty sure I have mentioned earlier, I am writing an original story as well as this one (it's called that right? Non-fanfiction) and I just feel like I cannot write both** **at the same time.** Important: **This** **means that (I'm so sorry!) I will probably take a break with this story (again..) and come back to it when I'm done with the other one or when I'm on writers block and need something to get the creativeness flowing again. But have faith! I WILL finish this story. I just feel like I have to. And it might take a lot of time to finish it, but I really want to. I hope I will, in fact, be able to click the 'complete' button. However long it might take. I have a lot of plans with this story and I know what I want to write. But I have to prioritize. So again, I'm so sorry.**

 **This was at first meant to be a preview, but then turned into a super short chapter.. oh well.**

 **Feel free to ask any questions regarding my story, either through a review or a PM, and I will do my best to answer it.**

 **Now, why am I boring you with this huge A/N? Let's get started with the story, shall we not?**

 **I do not own the Percy Jackson universe.**

* * *

There was an hour left until the classes were due to start, so Annabeth decided to try and get some work done. She had been at the new school for two mere days, and had already been overloaded with homework. Frankly, she hadn't really put much thought into them, so her bag weighed heavy, full of books and assignments that had to be finished. She promised to herself that she would get them done that very day. At least the ones that was due that week.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her worksheets and began solving all the equations, using her locker as a table. Although, soon her mind began drifting away. The dream she had that morning. It brought old memories to the surface. Memories she would prefer to forget all together, memories that made her insides turn and her mind spin. Horrible memories.

Before she could stop herself, her mind wandered back to that day. The day that her mom died.

 _-Flashback-_

 _Annabeth was twelve, and had just gotten back from elementary school. Leaving the bag in the hallway, she ran into the kitchen, hoping to see her mom bent over the stove, in the middle of baking. She had promised to make pancakes, after all. But she weren't there. Maybe the pancakes were already done? Annabeth skipped over to her parent's bedroom to see if her mother, Athena, was there instead. She was not._

 _Annabeth had looked through every room but the bathroom. Tentatively, she knocked and said "Mom?". There was no answer, so she entered. The second she did, she wished she hadn't. Athena lay there, in the bathtub. Her eyes were closed, like she was asleep. But she was not. The water was coloured red, and Annabeth saw two deep cuts in her lower arms. She gasped and ran up to her mom. "Mom?" she yelled. "Mom?!" frantically, she she felt for a heartbeat just like she had learnt in school. Nothing. Just cold skin, abnormally cold skin against Annabeth's own. "Mom!" she screamed through loud sobs. "Mom, listen to me! Mom!" But she didn't listen. She couldn't listen. She was no longer her gentle, caring, loving, mom. She was just a body._

 _-End of Flashback-_

Annabeth breathed out heavily through her mouth. She remembered that day as if it was yesterday. Frankly, she wanted to forget the memory, pretend like it didn't exist. But she couldn't. That would mean pushing part of Athena away, and that was something she just couldn't do.

What she didn't understand, was why. Why would her mom do that? Do that to her, her dad, and Annabeth's siblings? Her mom had always been so happy content with how life had played out. Why would she suddenly stop that? Athena appareantly hadn't realized that she was only passing the pain onto someone else. Someone that wasn't ready for such a burden. Not that anyone ever was ready.

Shaking her head, Annabeth tried to clear her thoughts. She had sunken into that hole before, and she would not do it again. It took a year filled with despair, sorrow and weekly meetings with a therapist before she could even glimpse the light again. More student's had filled into the corridor and she did not want anyone to notice her watery eyes.

Her mother had indeed left a big hole in Annabeth's heart. A hole that would never be replaced.

At the sound of the bell ringning, Annabeth went to start her first class for the day.


End file.
